Ministry of Internal Affairs III

Ministry of Internal Affairs III
Belügyminisztérium III. Főcsoportfőnökség
Agency overview
Formed1956; 68 years ago (1956)
Preceding agencies
DissolvedJanuary 1990; 34 years ago (1990-01)
TypeSecret police
JurisdictionHungary
StatusDisbanded after 1990
Parent agencyMinistry of Interior (Hungary)

Department III of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Hungarian: Belügyminisztérium III. Főcsoportfőnökség),[1][2] also known as the State Security Department of the Ministry of Interior (Hungarian: Belügyminisztérium Állambiztonsági Szervek),[1] was the secret police of the Hungarian People's Republic after the State Protection Authority (AVH) was disbanded in 1956. The MIA III was called the AVH as a derogatory name due to the former replacing the latter in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.[3]

Archived data related to the AVH and MIA III are made available through the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security.[4]

For the most part, under the goulash Communism system Department III operated with somewhat more restraint than other secret police agencies in the Communist world, and certainly more so than the ÁVH. However, it was still a feared tool of government control.

  1. ^ a b "Hungary". Crypto Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  2. ^ "The Political Transition in Hungary, 1989-90" (PDF). COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  3. ^ Rottman (1987), p. 31.
  4. ^ "Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security". Hungarian Archives Portal. Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2021-10-23.